Before his suicide in March 2010, Linkous created many albums of beauty and discord and much of Sparklehorse's music has an introspective, melancholy feel, which Linkous credited to a chemical imbalance. His lyrics are full of odd imagery: Joe Tangari describes Linkous' songs as "defiantly surrealist... with all manner of references to smiling babies, organ music, birds, and celestial bodies... In fact, some of the lyrics are so surreal that it's hard to imagine they're even metaphors for anything."
Musically, Sparklehorse were not far removed from alt country, though there are as many differences as similarities between that genre and Sparklehorse: Linkous was fond of incorporating obsolete musical instruments or technologies (such as woozy mellotrons, scratchy, distorted wire recordings of his own voice, or cheap, tinny drum machines), in ways reminiscent of some of Tom Waits' music. As an extension of this style, Sparklehorse was a pioneering voice in dream country. Sparklehorse offered a few full-throttle hard rock numbers, as well, such as "Some Day I Will Treat You Good" or "Happy Man".
Sparklehorse's first album was the confoundingly-titled Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot (1995). The record was a modest success, mainly on college radio. The supporting tour, however, found Linkous overdosing on valium and antidepressants. As a result, Linkous passed out in his London hotel room and remained unconscious with his legs pinned beneath him for almost fourteen hours.
This caused a buildup of potassium which was released when he was moved, causing his heart to stop for two to three minutes. He was hospitalized for weeks afterwards (nearly losing both legs), enduring numerous painful surgeries.
Good Morning Spider (1999) was recorded following this incident, and with mournful songs such as "Painbirds", many critics have mistakenly conjectured that Linkous's near death experience inspired the somber, yet hopeful tone of the album. However, Linkous has stated that much of the material on GMS was written prior to 'the incident'. One song which did result from it is "St. Mary", which is dedicated to the nurses at the hospital of the same name where Linkous recuperated.
2001 saw the release of It's A Wonderful Life and features appearances by Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, Nina Persson and Dave Fridmann, the pre-eminent producer of indie music at the time. Whereas much of "Vivadixie..." and "Spider" were recorded solely by Linkous in his "Static King" studio on his farm in rural Virginia, "Wonderful Life" was more of a formal effort, largely recorded by Fridmann after Linkous was asked by his label to retain an outside producer for the project.
Aside from his own music, Linkous has also become a sought-after record producer, and has helmed works such as Nina Persson's solo record, "A Camp", and Daniel Johnston's "Fear Yourself". Linkous has been one of the most ardent supporters of Johnston, an outsider artist who has had a long battle with mental illness. In 2004, Linkous curated and produced "Discovered Covered: The Late Great Daniel Johnston", a tribute album to the still-living Johnston featuring acts such as Beck, Death Cab for Cutie, Vic Chesnutt, Tom Waits and Bright Eyes. It also includes a collaboration between Sparklehorse and The Flaming Lips on the track "Go".
In 2003, Sparklehorse opened some concerts for R.E.M.
Linkous relocated his "Static King" studio to a remote mountaintop in North Carolina. Several years ago, he purchased a vintage recording console built by the near-mythical Daniel Flickinger. His fourth album has been delayed due to his own health problems as well as the necessity of overhauling the temperamental recording desk. Recently, Linkous has been carrying out promotional work for a new album Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain - collaborating with Danger Mouse and other notables including Christian Fennesz and Steven Drozd, and a release date of 25th September 2006 accompanied by US and UK tours was officially announced. Some of the newly released songs appeared at the time of It's A Wonderful Life as b-sides or demos, but there is a different feel to the album, thanks to stripped down production that has only been hinted at in previous albums. The ten minute long finale, with same title as the album, suggests a contemplative movie soundtrack rather than a song. Linkous has since realised his own ultimate song, remaining only now in music.
On March 6, 2010, Linkous committed suicide with a shotgun blast to his heart in the backyard of a friend's house in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was 47 years old. A retail version of his delayed collaboration with Danger Mouse, "The Dark Night of the Soul", was released in July 2010.
http://www.sparklehorse.com
King Of Nails
Sparklehorse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the summer hail
I'm the king of nails
I drink my liquor from the palm
Of a child who spoke in tongues
And smelled like sun
To the ghosts in the trees
To sink or to shine
The nails are all mine
And blood was rushing up the stairs
I shut my eyes and killed the cock
When the sun came knocking
Oh to taste the salty oil
Of your chest and on your eyes
When the sting is on the rise
Sleep in the fire
With snakes I have sired
To sink or to shine
The nails are all mine
I drink my liquor from the palm
Of a child who spoke in tongues
And smelled like sun
The toothless kiss of skeletons
And the summer hail
I'm the king of nails
Give all your leaves
To the ghosts in the trees
To sink or to shine
The nails are all mine
Sleep in the fire
With snakes I have sired
To sink or to shine
The nails are all mine
The opening lines of Sparklehorseโs song โKing Of Nailsโ evoke an eerie and unsettling atmosphere with the mention of โthe toothless kiss of skeletonsโ and โsummer hail.โ The haunting lyrics set the tone for the rest of the song, which delves into themes of mortality, power, and pain. The repetition of โIโm the king of nailsโ throughout the song emphasizes a sense of control and dominion over death and decay.
The second verse brings in more surreal and unsettling images, such as โdrinking liquor from the palm of a child who spoke in tonguesโ and โblood rushing up the stairs.โ The use of violent imagery, such as killing a cock, adds to the sense of instability and danger. The lyrics also allude to desire and intimacy, with lines like โto taste the salty oil of your chest and on your eyes when the sting is on the rise.โ
Overall, โKing Of Nailsโ is a haunting and evocative song that explores themes of mortality, power, and desire. The lyrics paint an eerie picture of a world where death and decay are ever-present, and the repetition of โIโm the king of nailsโ reinforces a sense of control and dominance over these forces.
Line by Line Meaning
The toothless kiss of skeletons
The gentle embrace of death and decay
And the summer hail
A fleeting, destructive force of nature
I'm the king of nails
I rule over the sharp, painful things in life
I drink my liquor from the palm
I consume my vices from an unlikely source
Of a child who spoke in tongues
Of an innocent and pure being with a gift beyond comprehension
And smelled like sun
And radiated warmth and happiness
Give all your leaves
Surrender all that you possess
To the ghosts in the trees
To the echoes of what once was
To sink or to shine
To either fall into obscurity or sparkle with brilliance
The nails are all mine
The sources of pain and pleasure belong solely to me
And blood was rushing up the stairs
And passion and desire were building inside me
I shut my eyes and killed the cock
I forcefully silenced any outside distractions
When the sun came knocking
When life and warmth beckoned me forwards
Oh to taste the salty oil
Oh to experience the raw essence of life
Of your chest and on your eyes
Of your heart and your soul
When the sting is on the rise
During moments of intense emotion and pain
Sleep in the fire
Embrace the chaos and danger
With snakes I have sired
With the demons I have summoned
The nails are all mine
I control both the pain and pleasure in my life
Lyrics ยฉ Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MARK LINKOUS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sarah Ross
The toothless kiss of skeletons
And the summer hail
I'm the king of nails
I drink my liquor from the palm
Of a child who spoke in tongues
And smelled like sun
Give all your leaves
To the ghosts in the trees
To sink or to shine
The nails are all mine
And blood was rushing up the stairs
I shut my eyes and killed the cock
When the sun came knocking
Oh to taste the salty oil
Of your chest and on your eyes
When the sting is on the rise
Sleep in the fire
With snakes I have sired
To sink or to shine
The nails are all mine
I drink my liquor from the palm
Of a child who spoke in tongues
And smelled like sun
The toothless kiss of skeletons
And the summer hail
I'm the king of nails
Give all your leaves
To the ghosts in the trees
To sink or to shine
The nails are all mine
Sleep in the fire
With snakes I have sired
To sink or to shine
The nails are all mine
Quixo667
when i first heard sparklehorse when they came around i didnt like it...now i like it a lot.ย never forget, teenagers are stupid.
Gavin Watts
Hey man, I'm a teen as of now, and this is fantastic. But also yes, I agree
Kievaughn Brandon
do you still like it or was it the pretentious loser in you?
batboy
this was my shit as a teenager but I was also a pretentious loser in the 2000s
Valentina Doloeras
same
Sarah Magdal
+Quixo667 i missed out on a lot of good 90s music too because i didn't like it at the time
Heather Ellis
The Shins always make me think of Sparkelhose, and I was just watching the new It's Only Life video by The Shins (which is amazing), and now I'm just bouncing between the two being happy because I love them both!
Erik Hernandez Cantรบ
After years I finally remembered to check Sparklehorse out. He is awesome
romeopalote
Increรญble canciรณn. De genio.
Justin Ravencroft
When you first listen to sparklehorse its like a shot of fiery whiskey that could dull out the sun.
And when you first try to understand him its like shooting up a hot dose of depression that would make edgar allen poe blush.
Then you finally HEAR him and you realize that wasnt depression you felt, it was the sharp clawing of demons being drawn like poison from your soul.